


I've Got You

by 7billionothersandme



Category: Long Exposure (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Depression, Hurt/Comfort, Jonas is in College, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 00:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11115996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7billionothersandme/pseuds/7billionothersandme
Summary: Turns out leaving Sellwood wasn't the cure all Jonas hoped it would be...





	I've Got You

**Author's Note:**

> Characters belong to the wonderful Mars, creator of Long Exposure, this is mostly based off of me reading all of Jonas's blog, that poor boy... but enjoy! Credit to Daz for being my depression beta!

The moment Jonas opens his eyes he knows today is completely written off.

Jonas had thought that once he was out of Sellwood, once he was at college away from Dean and free from school bullies, that he’d feel…better. Maybe better isn’t the right word, but he’d hoped that at least some of the weary exhaustion that pulled at him and made it so difficult to get up and go would disappear. He’d wondered, before, if being with Mitch would fix it. If it was some kind of loneliness, like when people talked of becoming whole after meeting the love of their life, and suddenly he would feel the weight on him lift. But when it hadn’t, he’d figured that maybe a change of scenery would do the trick. But here he was, letting his alarm ring out, unable to muster up the strength to lift his arm and turn it off.

He recalls Mitch, who had always been fast and loud and constantly moving ever since middle school. He was restless in chairs and snorted when he laughed and was always searching for something to get his adrenaline going. Of course, Jonas knows now that most of that was a defence mechanism, that Mitch has lived through things ten times worse than anything Dean ever inflicted. Jonas knows, logically that that doesn’t mean living fourteen years under Dean’s roof hasn’t been bad for him in some regard. But Jonas, well, Jonas has always felt slow. Heavy, and tired and, now that he thinks about it, numb. He took naps after school, cried into his pillow at the slightest provocation and woke up sluggish, eyes sticky and burning. Frankly he doesn’t understand why Mitch had even wanted to date such a lazy, greedy, disgusting person.

His eyes burning, he curls in tighter on himself, taking shuddering breath after shuddering breath, the ringing of the alarm wailing in sync with the chant in his head. Lazy. Greedy. Disgusting. Lazy. Greedy. Disgusting. Lazy. Greedy. Disgusting. Lazy. Greedy. Disgusting.

His phone bangs against the far wall and falls silent. 

The next breath comes a little easier. A release. He rolls over and goes back to sleep, tears drying on his cheeks and eyes closed against the blue ribbons of light wrapped tight around his wrists.

\---

He wakes up some time later, no more clear-headed, and having no idea what time it is. Vaguely he recognises that he must be hungry, but the feeling barely registers and the duvet weighs about a tonne. It’s not worth the effort.

\---

At some point his phone vibrates with a text, but it’s on the other side of the room now. It might be one of his lab partners wondering where he is, but he knows they don’t really need him. He’s by no means the smartest in the group and they’re all way closer with each other than they are with him. They don’t need him. Nobody really does. And the tears start pricking at his eyes again followed instantly by a wave of sickening disgust. Why does he have to be so goddamn sensitive? He hasn’t changed at all from the kid who cried after scraping his knee falling of his board for the first time. Dean hadn’t glanced twice, just told him to clean himself up before dinner. Sue had cleaned the cut and put on a plaster, she had told him that big, strong boys don’t cry. And he knew, even then, that being other than that, less than that, was disappointing.

Yet here he was, crying over nothing, the same way it has been for as long as he can remember. Idly it crosses his mind that maybe it’s even gotten worse since he moved to college. Without the constant direction from Dean and Sue he’s falling apart. Maybe they were right, maybe he’s just not ready for college yet. Maybe he should move back to Sellwood and get a job in town. Maybe-

The phone vibrates again. It’s silent for a couple of minutes and then again, a couple of consecutive messages. Jonas turns to face the wall, looking at the glow of his blue lights against the painted concrete of his dorm wall. This time the phone keeps buzzing. He has no idea who could be calling but it can’t be all that important. He’s not all that important anyhow.

\--

His phone has been quiet for a while when there’s a knocking on the door. Jonas sighs, it’s probably his roommate, he’s always forgetting his keys.

“It’s open Danny,” he mumbles into his pillow.

The banging only gets louder and more violent, “I said its open, Danny!”

The door swings open and Mitch looms in the door, panting and wide-eyed.

\--

“Thank fuck,” Mitch strides into the room, throwing his jacket into the corner and crouching next to Joey’s bed, hand reaching for Joey’s shoulder.

Jonas, pulls his shoulder out of Mitch’s grip, still facing the wall, and mutters, “What are you doing here, Mitch?”

Mitch frowns, “You never fuckin’ answered my texts babe, or my calls. The clone texted you too, no reply. Shit, Joey, I thought you’d been stabbed or something.”

“Sorry Mitch,” he says, so quietly that Mitch barely catches it. The tears are burning again. He can’t believe how thoughtless and selfish he is, lying here wallowing while he’s scaring the only people who have ever cared for him.

“Hey, what’s up Joey?” Jonas just shrugs; he’s not sure how to explain what he’s feeling, let alone why he’s feeling it. Mitch’s frown deepens.

“S’it okay if I climb in with ya?” Jonas shrugs again, and he feels the gust of cooler air hit his back as Mitch lifts the duvet.

Mitch hums a little, “Nice and warm in here babe,” and he slings an arm over Joey’s chest, pulling himself in tight.

They lie there in silence, breathing together. Jonas can feel Mitch’s fingers, always looking for something to fiddle with, moving between stroking the fabric of his pyjama shirt and tracing along the skin on his arm, occasionally pausing to play with his fingers. Mitch’s fingertips start to toy gently with the hem of his t-shirt, skimming over Joey’s stomach where it goes over the waistband of his shorts. Usually, when Jonas isn’t swinging between feeling nothing and feeling everything, he enjoys Mitch touching him like this, the way he pays special attention to his softest parts. But today, today it makes something unbearable swell in his chest, like he’s about to explode out of his flesh. He grabs Mitch’s hand and pulls it away.

“Please,” Jonas whispers, “not today,” and he hates how weak he sounds and how Mitch doesn’t seem to realise he isn’t worth being worried about.

“S’fine Joey-bean, you know I got you,” Mitch whispers back, pressing closer to his back, stale cigarette breath puffing over Jonas’s ear, “I got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> The reason Mitch is so freaked about Jonas not texting back is because I feel like Joey would be still super paranoid abt that sort of stuff bcos of Dean??, so Mitch Knows something is up when all the texts and a phone call get ignored because Joeys would never normally do that unless he physcially was unable or had already said he wouldn't be able to reply  
> I didn't want to make it seem like Mitch is doing that controlling thing of "you didn't answer the text i sent five minutes ago so i need to make sure you're not cheating on me" kind of thing, cos thats not what i was trying to say... just in case anyone interprets it that way  
> Anyway I hope you liked it! Comments feed me and tell me what imdoing right so theyre greatly appreciated!


End file.
